原文: How To Beat The Stress When Working From Home

If you aren't working from home, I know what you might be thinking. How can a web worker possibly have stress? They dictate their own schedules, work in their pajamas, etc.

I wish the above statements were true. However the reality is that web working could in fact be more stressful than an office job. If you don't believe me, then head over to New York Times and read this article. It talks about some blatant truths related to web working and throws light on the kind of stress which web workers face everyday. You will surprised to find people like Michael Arrington, at the helm of blogosphere, candidly confessing to having sleepless nights and leading a stressful and unhealthy life.

Although I may not completely agree with the NY times article, nobody can deny the fact that working from home is stressful at times and hence web workers are always trying to organize their methods of working in order to have more time at hands and lead a better life. Hence today I decided to share some points which I think could help in reducing this stress and make life better for someone who's working from home.

It's all about the time
Really, it is. When you decide to work from home, it is you who would decides your working hours and how you can get the maximum the time. I know time-management is cliche now and you are tired of hearing it again and again, still the fact remains that you can't get yourself out of the 24/7 schedule. If you set your priorities right and allot time to different parts of your work, in the end you'll work less hours and gain more out of it. In other words you'll be more productive.

Disrupt the continuity
Sitting at your desk for 5-6 hours continuously isn't a good thing for your eyes or your health. I mean, it's common sense right. So whether you take 3-4 short 5 minute breaks or 1-2 long breaks, you gotta take them.

Use tools like Workrave which does a pretty good job in reminding you that you need to stand up and go away from your computer. So make sure you disrupt the continuity of your work at regular intervals. It's important.

Exercise / Yoga
If you are working from home, you know that your body parts simply don't move as much when compared to going to an office. Sure there are stretches you can do at your workstation but there is no walk from the parking lot, not opportunity to walk up to the third floor, etc.

Hence it's important to fill that gap through exercise or yoga. I have personally struggled with this one; procrastination and the inability to peel myself from the PC simply won't let it occur.

So as I am writing this, I have decided to exercise everyday even if it's for 10 mins. I know this will energize me and help in draining the stress out of my mind and body. If you have been procrastinating like me, then start doing it from today.

Interact
One of the ways a person who's in an office job gets rid of stress is by interacting with friends/colleagues and sharing feelings and thoughts with them. When you work from home your primary way to interact is through email or IM. It simply doesn't compare or match the comfort that a human voice can provide.

So, don't stop talking. Talk to your family, to your friends, to your neighbors. Use your cellphone or use Skype. But don't stop talking; find a way to work some conversation into your day.

Music, Books and Movies
Music is known to be the best stress-buster. A nice and soothing song can charge you up like anything. A good book or perhaps an exciting movie can have the similar effect on your mind. So make sure you are in touch with these 3 sources of knowledge and entertainment and use them when you feel tired and stressed.

A Day for you
It's usually a 7-day work week for web workers. The internet won't stop for you and hence you try to match its speed too. But as Mahatma Gandhi said, "There's more to life than increasing its speed."

So take time out for yourself, at least a day in a week. Ditch the computer, forget it, go out and enjoy. You'll feel better and the next day you'll be more enthusiastic when you start working again.

There are some other very effective ways to beat the stress - for example, sex. But I didn't mention it above because it may not apply to all (I mean not everyone might have easy access to it :)

If you work from home, I'd love to know how do you get rid of stress and make your work-from-home life better and productive.

Cheers,

Abhijeet

译文: 宅控一族如何应对压力

来自Jeet Blog，Abhijeet Mukherjee写于2008年7月24日

    （图片：Riot Jane）

      作者是不是宅控一族【1】啊——我就知道你会这么想的：网络工作者怎么会有压力？他∕她们自由支配时间，穿着睡衣工作，诸如此类的。

      我倒是希望你们所说的都是真的。然而现实却是：网络工作事实上比一般的办公室工作的压力更大。如果你不相信我的话，那么请看一下《纽约时报》上的这篇文章吧，里面谈到一些关于网络工作的众所周知的实情，并阐明了网络工作者每天面对的压力的性质。你会很惊奇地发现像Michael Arrington这样的“新兴媒体生态圈”【2】领军人物坦承有过失眠的夜晚并且生活在重重压力和健康堪忧之下。

      尽管我并非完全同意该文章的观点，但是没人能够否认的一个事实就是在家工作不时会产生压力，因此宅控一族总会尽量使工作有条理，以求能有更充裕的时间来享受生活。因此今天我打算与大家分享一些点子，希望能够帮助宅控一族减轻压力以便活得潇洒点。

      一切归于时间
      诚如标题所言。当你决定加入宅控一族，就只会由你决定你自己的工作时间并如何最大限度地利用它。我知道“时间管理”已是陈词滥调了，你也厌倦了一而再再而三地听别人提起，然而事实无法改变：你不能走出一周七天一天二十四小时的框框（24/7 schedule）。如果你确定好事情的优先顺序，并根据工作的不同职责分配时间的话，最终你会收到事半功倍的效果。换句话说你将会更加富有成效。

      分散连续性
      连续在桌子旁坐上5—6个小时对你的眼睛和健康没有好处。我意思是，这是基本的常识嘛！因此该休息短短5分钟或者长达1—2小时，3到4次吧，该休息就休息去。

      使用一些像Workrave那样的小工具，它会提醒你该站起来离开电脑前了，相当不错的功能。保证你有规律地分散工作的连续性，这点很重要。

 

      锻炼∕瑜伽
      如果你是宅控一族，你应当清楚你身体的某些部位并不像到办公室工作那样经常运动。当然，现在窝在家里也可以伸伸手弯弯腰什么的，但却少了自停车场到办公室间的散步，没机会去爬三层楼梯了，诸如此类的。

      因此，通过锻炼或者瑜伽来弥补那运动不足就显得重要了。我个人就为了做这个而努力着，因为我总是粘在电脑前而无法自拔，要停下来做运动还真是难以办到。

      因此，正如我在写这篇日志的时候，我就决定了每天要进行锻炼，哪怕就10分钟。我知道这样能使我精力充沛并有助于排解身心压力。如果你也和我一样在电脑前死赖着，那么从今天起就开始锻炼吧。

      互动
      在办公室里工作的人就常常通过与朋友∕同事进行互动并和他们分享感受和想法的途径来排解压力。当你在家工作时，你互动的主要途径就是发电子邮件和即时聊天了。坦白说，这比不过人的声音所能带来的抚慰。

      因此，不要闭口不谈。去与你的家人，你的朋友，你的邻居交流吧，就用手机或者Skype。但就是不要闭口不言。千方百计都要在日常工作中制造些会话。

      音乐，书籍和电影
      众所周知，音乐是最好的压力舒缓品。一首好听和舒缓的歌曲能让你充满精神。一本好书或一部令人兴奋的电影能对脑筋产生类似的效果。因此保证你手头上有这三类融知识性和娱乐性于一体的资源并在你感到疲倦和压抑的时候使用它们。

      专属你自己的一天

      对于宅控一族一周七天通常都是工作日。互联网不会因你而停滞，因此你努力跟上它的步伐。但如Mahatma Gandhi所说：“除了加快生活的速度之外，生活里还有更多的事情可以做。”

      因此找时间外出走走吧，一周至少一天。离开电脑，暂时忘记它，到外边享受一下。你感觉会好些，并且第二天更有精神重新开始工作。

      还有其他一些非常有效的方法来排解压力，例如，做爱。但我没在上文提起是因为这个方法并非对所有人都适用（我是说并非人人都能够轻易地做到。）

      如果你是宅控一族，我很乐意去了解你如何摆脱压力并使你的宅控生活过得更加美好和富有成效。

      此致

      Abhijeet

      推荐

      Zen To Done：这是一本指引更简朴生活的简明电子书。

 

      文中注释：

      【1】working at home：也可以译作“在家里工作”。补充一些相关概念：

      SOHO是一个源于美国60年代的词汇，是英文small office home office的头一个字母的拼写，就是在家里办公、小型办公的意思。 SOHO是人们对自由职业者的另一种称谓，同时亦代表一种自由、弹性而新型的工作方式。这种工作方式是SOHO现代城所追求的。

     

      控，出自日语“コン（con）”，取complex（情结）的前头音，指极度喜欢某东西的人，喜欢的东西要冠在“控”字之前，例如：萝莉控、正太控、女仆控。在名词后加上即成为“很喜欢某物”的意思。基本的解释和“癖”相似，也可以放在名词前面做动词。表示强烈的嗜好和喜欢，有时候过于极端会给人BT的感觉，所以“控”是有些贬义意味的。但现在，大家把普通的喜欢某一事物的人也称为XX控，有时并不含贬义。但又跟癖有点不同，比如萝莉控不会让喜欢的萝莉受伤害，加以保护；但恋童癖却会折磨乃至强暴甚至杀死儿童。

 

    【2】blogosphere：网络用语，它把Blog、logos和sphere三个词天衣无缝地组合在一起，定义为“新兴媒体生态圈”。